{{Short description|Highway in Delaware, United States}} {{Use American English|date=May 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox road |state=DE |type=DE |route=41 |alternate_name= |map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=240|frame-lat=39.765|frame-long=-75.672|zoom=11|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Delaware Route 41}}}} |map_custom=yes |map_notes=DE 41 highlighted in red |length_mi=6.19 |length_ref=<ref name=DelDOT>{{cite web |author= Staff |title= Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes |publisher= Delaware Department of Transportation |year= 2018 |url= https://deldot.gov/Publications/manuals/traffic_counts/pdfs/2018/2018Interstate_USRoutes_DelawareRoutes.pdf?cache=1585496964656 |format= PDF |access-date= March 29, 2020}}</ref> |maint=DelDOT |established=1936<ref name="DE 1936 map"/> |direction_a=South |terminus_a={{jct|state=DE|DE|2|DE|62}} in Prices Corner |junction={{plainlist| *{{jct|state=DE|DE|48}} in Hockessin }} |direction_b=North |terminus_b={{jct|state=PA|PA|41}} near Hockessin |counties=New Castle |previous_type=US |previous_route=40 |next_type=DE |next_route=42
}} '''Delaware Route 41''' ('''DE 41''') is a highway in northwestern New Castle County, Delaware. Its southern terminus is at DE 2 and DE 62 in Prices Corner. From DE 2, the road passes through suburban areas along Newport Gap Pike, intersecting DE 48 in Hockessin and becoming Lancaster Pike. Its northern terminus is the Pennsylvania state line just north of Hockessin, and the road continues on as Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41) to Gap.
DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike in the 19th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, this road was upgraded to a state highway. DE 41 was designated by 1936 to run from U.S. Route 40 (US 40, now DE 9/DE 273) in New Castle north to the Pennsylvania border in Hockessin. In the 1950s, DE 141 became concurrent with the route from New Castle to north of Newport. DE 41 was removed from the DE 141 concurrency in the 1970s and was realigned to follow DE 2 east to an interchange with DE 141 in the 1980s, with the old alignment south of DE 2 becoming part of DE 62. In 2015, the southern terminus was cut back to its current location, removing the concurrency with DE 2.
==Route description== thumb|left|DE 41 northbound past its southern terminus at DE 2 and DE 62 in Prices Corner DE 41 begins at an intersection with DE 2 (Kirkwood Highway) in Prices Corner, heading northwest along Newport Gap Pike. South of DE 2, Newport Gap Pike continues southeast as DE 62. DE 41 is a two-lane divided highway before it crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad at-grade south of Greenbank station and the Red Clay Creek in Greenbank. The route becomes an undivided road and continues through a mix of residential neighborhoods and woodland. The road crosses Hyde Run and comes to an intersection with Faulkland Road west of Brandywine Springs Park. Past this junction, DE 41 continues northwest as a two-lane undivided highway, crossing Hyde Run again, and heads towards Hockessin, with stretches of divided highway around the intersections with Millcreek Road/Hercules Road and McKennans Church Road/Loveville Road.<ref name="DE 2017 map">{{Delaware road map|year=2017|access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="google"/>
thumb|right|DE 41 (Lancaster Pike) northbound in Hockessin In Hockessin, DE 41 meets the western terminus of DE 48 (Lancaster Pike) and merges onto Lancaster Pike. The Lancaster Pike alternates between a divided highway and a two-lane undivided road. DE 41 turns to the west-northwest and passes to the northeast of the Sanford School before it crosses Brackenville Road. At this intersection, the road widens to three lanes, with a northbound truck lane for a short distance as it ascends a hill, before narrowing back to two lanes. The route enters business areas and becomes a three-lane divided highway, with the southbound direction gaining a truck lane as it descends a hill. The median turns into a center left-turn lane as the road runs past more developments and crosses the Wilmington and Western Railroad again at-grade. The route comes to the Yorklyn Road intersection, where the southbound direction narrows to one lane. The road briefly becomes a divided highway at the Valley Road junction and crosses Mill Creek, leaving the center of Hockessin. On the western corner of this intersection is the Elsie Walker Rest Area, a small park that serves as a picnic area. Past the Valley Road intersection, the route widens to three lanes, with a truck lane in the northbound direction as it climbs a hill. The road passes homes, eventually narrowing back to two lanes. DE 41 reaches the Pennsylvania state line, where Gap Newport Pike continues northwest as PA 41.<ref name="DE 2017 map"/><ref name="google">{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=DE+2+and+north+woodward+avenue&daddr=DE+41+and+PA+41&geocode=FdBZXgIdDzB--yl7Ywvf_v3GiTGX_eUh9eQ7Wg%3BFQA3XwIdx7J8-ynN9A-Kff_GiTGWPpPfIu6FiQ&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=39.737678,-75.617652&sspn=0.003762,0.010568&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=13|title=overview of Delaware Route 41|access-date=February 7, 2011}}</ref>
DE 41 serves as part of the main route connecting Wilmington, Delaware, to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and sees heavy truck traffic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hockessin Community Redevelopment Plan - Chapter VII Transportation|publisher=New Castle County|url=https://www.nccde.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/968|access-date=January 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Karl|title=Delawareans under siege from truck traffic|work=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, DE|date=November 10, 2015|url=http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/11/10/public-meeting-truck-traffic-del-41/75516592/|access-date=January 3, 2018}}</ref> DE 41 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 22,650 vehicles at the Old Lancaster Road intersection to a low of 10,332 vehicles at the McKennans Church Road/Loveville Road intersection.<ref name=DelDOT/> The entire length of DE 41 is part of the National Highway System.<ref name="NHS">{{cite map|publisher=Federal Highway Administration|title=National Highway System: Delaware|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/nhs_maps/delaware/de_delaware.pdf|year=2010|format=PDF|access-date=February 10, 2012}}</ref>
==History== thumb|left|DE 41 northbound between Prices Corner and Hockessin What is now DE 41 was originally chartered as the Gap and Newport Turnpike on January 30, 1808, an extension of the 1807-chartered turnpike in Pennsylvania that was to run from Gap, Pennsylvania, southeast to Newport, Delaware.<ref name=history>{{cite book|last=Scharf|first=John Thomas|access-date=February 7, 2011|title=History of Delaware : 1609-1888, Volume 1|year=1888|publisher=L.J. Richards & Co|location=Philadelphia|page=416|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wd5AAAAMAAJ&dq=gap+and+newport+turnpike&pg=PA416}}</ref> Construction of the Gap and Newport Turnpike began in 1809 and was completed in 1818.<ref name=Senate>{{cite book |last=Mowry |first=C. |others=Pennsylvania Senate |title=Documents, Accompanying the Report of the Committee, on Roads, Bridges and Inland Navigation Read in the Senate of Pennsylvania on the 23d March 1822 |year=1822 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fJMEAAAAMAAJ |format=PDF |access-date=December 2, 2019 }}</ref> By 1920, this road was maintained by the county.<ref name="DE 1920 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1920|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> The road north of Lancaster Pike was proposed as a state highway four years later.<ref name="DE 1924 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1924|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> A year later, a state highway was completed on what would become DE 41 between New Castle and Prices Corner.<ref name="DE 1925 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1925|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> Plans were underway in 1927 to replace the outdated swing bridge over the Christina River in Newport.<ref name="1927 report"/> Contracts for this project were awarded the following year.<ref name="1928 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1928|page=8|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=December 31, 1928|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1928/annual_1928_chief.pdf|access-date=November 16, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213423/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1928/annual_1928_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The replacement bridge over the Christina River, a bascule bridge, opened on December 1, 1929.<ref name="1929 report"/> In 1927, plans were made to replace the grade crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad line (now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor) in Newport with an underpass under the tracks.<ref name="1927 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1927|pages=8, 23|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=December 31, 1927|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1927/annual_1927_chief.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2014|journal=|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213419/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1927/annual_1927_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Work on this underpass began in 1929.<ref name="1929 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1929|pages=13, 19|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=December 31, 1929|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1929/annual_1929_chief.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213427/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1929/annual_1929_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The crossing under the Pennsylvania Railroad was finished and opened to traffic in June 1930.<ref name="1930 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1930|page=13|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=December 31, 1930|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1930/annual_1930_chief.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2014|journal=|archive-date=July 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721035421/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1930/annual_1930_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1929, the Gap Road was upgraded to a state highway.<ref name="1929 report"/>
DE 41 was designated to run from US 40 (now DE 9/DE 273) in New Castle north to PA 41 at the Pennsylvania state line in Hockessin by 1936. It followed Basin Road north to Newport, James Street through Newport, and the Newport Gap Pike north of there.<ref name="DE 1936 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1936|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> By 1952, DE 141 was designated to run concurrent with DE 41 from New Castle to north of Newport.<ref name="DE 1952 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1952|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> In 1954, plans were made to replace the intersection with US 13/US 40/US 202 in Basin Corner with a modified cloverleaf interchange in an effort to reduce traffic congestion.<ref name="1954 report">{{cite journal|title=Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1954|pages=14, 17, 41|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=July 1, 1954|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1954/annual_1954_chief.pdf|access-date=November 9, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213525/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1954/annual_1954_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Construction on the interchange began in September of that year.<ref name="1955 report">{{cite journal|title=Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1955|page=57|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=July 1, 1955|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1955/annual_1955_chief.pdf|access-date=November 9, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213530/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1955/annual_1955_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The interchange between US 13/US 40/US 202 and DE 41/DE 141 was completed in 1956.<ref name="1956 report">{{cite journal|title=Report of the State Highway Department|edition=1956|page=54|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=July 1, 1956|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1956/annual_1956_chief.pdf|access-date=February 6, 2014|journal=|archive-date=January 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107104429/http://deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1956/annual_1956_chief.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="DE 1957 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1957|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref>
thumb|right|DE 41 southbound past DE 48 near Hockessin In April 1954, work began to improve DE 41 between the DE 48 intersection and the Pennsylvania state line. These improvements constructed a bypass of Hockessin and added truck lanes on steep grades. This project was scheduled for completion in July 1955.<ref name="1954 report"/> The former alignment of the route through Hockessin became Old Lancaster Pike.<ref name="DE 1957 map"/> The new northbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 through the I-95 interchange opened in November 1962, at which point construction on the southbound lanes began.<ref name="1963 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report Delaware State Highway Department|edition=1963|page=23|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=December 31, 1964|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1963/1963_highways.pdf|access-date=November 10, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213605/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1963/1963_highways.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The southbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 opened in June 1964, enabling directional flow of DE 41/DE 141 through the interchange.<ref name="1964 report">{{cite journal|title=Annual Report|edition=1964|page=20|publisher=Delaware State Highway Department|location=Dover, Delaware|date=1964|url=http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1964/1964_interstate.pdf|access-date=November 10, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213608/http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/annual_reports/pdf/1964/1964_interstate.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The southern terminus of DE 41 was truncated to DE 141 north of Newport by 1971, eliminating the concurrency with that route.<ref name="DE 1971 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1971|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> By 1981, DE 41 was realigned to follow DE 2 to end at an interchange with DE 141, with DE 62 being designated along the former DE 41 south of DE 2.<ref name="DE 1981 map">{{Delaware road map|year=1981|access-date=November 24, 2015}}</ref> In 2015, the Delaware Department of Transportation proposed cutting back the southern terminus of DE 41 from the interchange with DE 141 to the intersection with DE 2 and DE 62, eliminating the concurrency with DE 2, and also eliminating signage for DE 41 along DE 141. This change was made in order to reduce sign clutter and also reduce truck traffic along the southern portion of DE 41 by directing truck traffic to use DE 141 and DE 48 instead to reach DE 41. A public workshop on the proposal was held and changes were made in September 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Proposed Route Designation Changes – DE Route 41 and DE Route 2 |publisher=Delaware Department of Transportation |url=https://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/CompletedProjects/de2_41/index.shtml|access-date=December 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222133845/https://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/CompletedProjects/de2_41/index.shtml|archive-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Routes 2 and 41 Separation Study |publisher=Delaware Department of Transportation |url=http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41//pdf/DE2-41_Unbraiding_Proposed.pdf |access-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411190827/http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41//pdf/DE2-41_Unbraiding_Proposed.pdf |archive-date=April 11, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Major intersections== {{Jcttop|length_ref=<ref name=DelDOT/>|state=DE|county=New Castle}} {{DEint |location=Prices Corner |mile=0.00 |road={{jct|state=DE|DE|2|name1=Kirkwood Highway|city1=Wilmington|city2=Newark}}<br />{{jct|state=DE|DE|62|dir1=east|name1=Newport Gap Pike}} |notes=Southern terminus of DE 41; western terminus of DE 62 }} {{DEint |location=Hockessin |lspan=2 |mile=3.44 |road={{jct|state=DE|DE|48|dir1=east|name1=Lancaster Pike}} |notes=Western terminus of DE 48 }} {{DEint |mile=6.19 |road={{jct|state=PA|PA|41|dir1=north|name1=Gap Newport Pike|city1=Avondale|city2=Lancaster}} |notes=Pennsylvania state line; northern terminus of DE 41 }} {{jctbtm}}
==See also== *{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{AttachedKML|display=title,inline}} {{Commons category}} * [https://www.aaroads.com/guides/de-041/ DE 41 at AARoads.com] * [https://www.alpsroads.net/roads/de/de_41/ Delaware Roads - DE 41]
{{Authority control}} {{Good article}}
041 Category:Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Category:Turnpikes in Delaware